By Tim Poole

Having seen his side win eight of their last 10 matches against the Premier League champions, the 49-year-old believes the Toffees can pick up points at the Etihad on Saturday

Everton manager David Moyes is hopeful that his side can continue their strong record against Manchester City when the two sides clash at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.

The Toffees have won eight of their last 10 games against City, although Roberto Mancini’s men have not lost at home in 36 games since a defeat to the Merseyside club in December 2010.

However, Moyes is looking to draw confidence from the side’s past achievements against the Premier League champions to grind out a positive result.

"I think we've had some good performances [against City]," Moyes told the club’s official website. "I don't know if they're up there with the best in my time here but I think we've done quite well when we've played them and we'll try to do that again.

"They're up at the top of the league just behind Manchester United. I think by their standards, they've maybe not played as well as they can but I think their points total has been very good."

Ahead of the clash, Moyes has been boosted by the return of Darron Gibson after a three-month absence with a thigh injury.

The boss is delighted with the midfielder’s recovery, but has stressed that the physical condition of his squad is far from perfect after playing Arsenal on Wednesday.

He said: "We were pleased to have him [Gibson] back. We've been short of numbers and we've missed him. He did fine [against Arsenal].

"We just hope he's fine with his injury and he's recovered well enough. We're just really getting the players through recovery as quick as we can. They put in a big effort against Arsenal and we know we have to put in another big effort on Saturday."